CHIEFS: Chiefs release Edwards, Surtain, Huard

Chiefs release Edwards, Surtain, Huard
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star


Linebacker Donnie Edwards, cornerback Patrick Surtain and quarterback Damon Huard were at this point in their careers spare parts for the Chiefs, no matter their general manager and head coach. Each also weighed heavily on their salary cap, so it was only a matter of when, and not if, the Chiefs would part ways with the over-30 veterans.

It happened Tuesday. General manager Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley put one more of their stamps on the program, releasing three players who no longer had a place with the Chiefs.

The Chiefs also released a fourth player, tight end Michael Merritt. A seventh-round draft pick last year, Merritt was arrested early this month in Orlando, Fla., and charged with possession of marijuana.

Surtain and Edwards would have been the highest-paid Chiefs players this year with base salaries of $7 million and $5 million, respectively. Huard would have been paid $2 million.

The Chiefs found Edwards, Surtain and Huard expendable not just because of advancing age and bloated salary. Each missed a large part of last season because of injury.

During their absences, Surtain and Huard were passed on the depth chart by younger players. In the case of Surtain, it was Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr and Maurice Leggett. For Huard, it was Tyler Thigpen.

The Chiefs never found an adequate replacement for Edwards. But the Chiefs evidently didn’t believe Edwards, who will turn 36 in April, could again be the player he was earlier in his career.

Edwards was always steady and often spectacular in his 13 NFL seasons. He played eight of them with the Chiefs in two different stretches.

Drafted by the Chiefs in 1996, Edwards quickly became an important member of one of the league’s strongest defensive teams. He was released in a salary-cap related move after the 2001 season, and the Chiefs for years regretted not holding on to Edwards.

He returned in 2007 after five strong seasons with the Chargers and played well his first season back in Kansas City. But various injuries limited Edwards to seven games and four starts last season. He finished it on the injured-reserve list.

The Chiefs traded a second-round pick to Miami in 2005 for Surtain, a two-time Pro Bowler with the Dolphins. He never played up to that standard for the Chiefs.

An early-season shoulder injury forced him out of the starting lineup early last year, and by the time he was well enough to play again, the rookies Flowers and Carr had established themselves as starters and Leggett as the nickel back.

Surtain, who will turn 33 in June, finished the season as a seldom-used reserve.

Huard, 35, spent five seasons with the Chiefs. He rescued their 2006 season, going 5-3 as the starter in place of the injured Trent Green and helping the Chiefs to a wild-card playoff spot.

He started three early-season games before being placed on injured reserve because of a thumb injury. In his place, Thigpen played well enough to establish himself as the starter for the remainder of the season.

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